I enjoyed this book a lot. I liked that it’s set in the same universe as The Stand In and I liked that made me fall in love with Toronto even more.

I think Ariadne as a character is AWESOME. Her motivations just make sense and I liked that I never thought she was stupid for feeling something or for having a particular reaction. 

The reason I gave it 3.75 stars however, is because the main love interest wasn’t that interesting to me and I felt like I questioned why he was worth a lot of the madness. I get falling for someone though and I’m sure in the in between parts we didn’t see, their love flourished more beyond him finding her smart and pretty and her doing the same.

I honestly was way more invested in the story between Ariadne and Phoebe, Ariadne and her father, Hana and her mother, etc. 

I also felt like the ending dragged a bit. I wanted to see them be happy sooner. 

I still really enjoyed it.

I think the thing that annoyed me the most about this book was that it had the potential to be so good, and it was a huge letdown. The bones were there, but the execution was lacking. The first third was mostly great and it slowly went downhill from there.

First of all, the book was way too long and slow-paced. There were whole long sections in there focusing on the heroine's days at work and her repetitive musings about work that could have been significantly cut down without losing anything. We never even get to see her meet two of the hero's bandmates, which I think would have made a much better use of the page-time. I'll come back to this part later, but the last quarter of the book was full of unnecessary melodrama that also went on for way too long. It felt like it needed a really good edit.

It pains me to say this, because I usually love 'unlikeable' heroines, but being in Ari's head was an exercise in frustration. If she were just somewhat less judgmental, pessimistic, and wilfully ignorant, I would've liked this book a lot more. I think part of the reason the book felt so long is how negative and closed-off she was about almost everything. And every time she had an epiphany about something, she'd seemingly forget all about it by the next chapter.

Now, back to what I said about the last quarter of the book. The thing that mainly kept me reading this book was how much I loved the hero, Jihoon, but his refusal to really listen to and understand Ari's qualms about his fame began to get on my nerves at this point.

This is then compounded by the third-act conflict, where his decision not to go against his company to defend her reputation (after a picture of them goes viral and the company decide to malign her) really did not make sense with his previous characterisation and soured me on him. Ari also did not make sense at this point, with her insistence on wanting to take their relationship public when she had previously been serious about her privacy and knew that Jihoon wasn't allowed to be seen publicly dating. It all felt so unnecessary and overdramatic. I would have much rather seen them work through the conflict together, but instead they break up (AGAIN) and spend longer apart than they actually spent together throughout the whole book. They only reconcile in the very last chapter and the epilogue doesn't even have them on page together!

 disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. Thus, no stars doesn’t indicate that the book wasn’t worthy of any starred system. It just means I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all, even if the lesson is that I’m a ho for the smut, recognizing a genre/book/author is not for me, or confronting my own mommy/daddy issues lol. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Happy reading! Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial

general premise: 

 
thoughts:
I'd like to first start this off by saying that every time there is a character named Brittany that is spelled exactly as I spell my name, she is utter and absolute garbage. I do not claim characters in books named Brittany; I have yet to find a redeeming or kind one hahaha. This book is further proof that Brittanys in books suck.

Maybe it's because I've read so many celebrity x peasant romances lately, but this one didn't hit for me the same way The Stand In did last year! That's not to say that this was a horrible romance or that it was a bad book. I still enjoyed the writing, thought there was sweet moments & rooted for Ari & Jihoon. However, I just wasn't gushing over the characters or the romance by the end!

However, the part that did work for me were the representations of and commentaries on racial dynamics in Toronto, Canada. Though I'm not from there (I have family there though!), these instances of microaggressions, overtly problematic behaviors, and ruminations on belonging rang authentic to me as a bisexual, neurospicy, AAPI survivor in the United States. I think sometimes people read about these situations or they watch them portrayed on tv/film and think "huh, that's so exaggerated. I've NeVeR seen someone act like that or say anything racist before. NoT iN mY ToWn!" OR they think, "Wow, some people are so horrible. I'm such a good ally myself though!" Lol, look, I enjoy a good delulu era. However, I hope that you are constantly examining how your actions and words can be actively anti-racist. Otherwise, you actually could be causing more harm than you think.

Here are questions you can think on to explore your own behavior:
-Are you talking over anyone? Are you constantly taking up space in conversations? Who are you talking over? Are there any voices not being heard?
-When someone brings up a situation that was problematic/harmful to them (that you caused or have power over in that dynamic), do you question them and ask them for proof/examples? Do you deflect and make it about your feelings instead? Do you get defensive and immediately feel attacked? Do you call them "mean", "negative", or accuse them of using race/sexuality/etc. as a weapon? OR do you ask how you could do better next time? Do you think, 'hm, I never thought of that before and I'm glad to have this information so I can expand my perspective.'
-When someone says something harmful (not you), do you point it out? Do you address it? Are you trying to foster brave spaces? OR do you hide under "SaFe SpAcEs" that inevitably end up harming POC/queer/disabled/fat/poor folx because others are allowed to speak however they want -typically over marginalized folx- without consequence?

Those are just a few ways to examine any internalized bias that we *all* have. No one is perfect but the key is to be actively working on it. So I'm grateful that there's more representation of these kinds of conversations! 

This is my first Lily Chu but will definitely not be my last! I have been in a bit of a reading slump, but picked this up after work and finished it well past my bedtime. I was hooked! I fell in love with Ari and Jihoon, and rooted for them the entire time. This was an engrossing and engaging contemporary romcom that also touches on finding your own voice and place in life, belonging, and self-advocacy. This book made me laugh, grit my teeth in anger, and ultimately cheer as Ari and Jihoon find their own HEA with each other and in their own lives. Highly recommended!

Review copy courtesy of the publisher via NetGalley.